Bottom loading system for tank trucks and trailers



' y 1967 F. D. MAHONEY ETAL 3,

BOTTOM LOADING SYSTEM FOR TANK TRUCKS AND TRAILERS Filed Dec. 18, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.1

INVENTORS FRANK D. MAHONEY HOMER E. REED HAROLD B. UHLIG AT ORNS y 5 F. o. MAHONEY ETAL 3,319,645

BOTTOM LOADING SYSTEM FOR TANK TRUCKS AND TRAILERS Filed Dec. 18, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q 8 N x Q N D a I g R F: 9 "O "a v, Q

a a Q "J x K n N Q a Q Q Q 2 f s i 5 2i; 0 "I10 2 LL L Q j D .1 L qo '0 q' l\ w i- 2 M Q N Q mm W Q If Q q Q o, N 'O P\ I d O I E a g R INVENTORS Q a a FRANK o. MAHONEY HOMER E. REED R HAROLD B. UHLIG 3 BY R 8 AT ORNEY y 16, 1967 F. D. MAHONEY ETAL 3,319,645

BOTTOM LOADING SYSTEM FOR TANK TRUCKS AND TRAILERS 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed Dec. 18, 1964 g 2. y g 3 8 y E W wm Do Na INVENTORS FRANK D. MAHONEY HOMER E. REED HAROLD B. UHLIG y 1967 F. D. MAHONEY ETAL 3,319,645

BOTTOM LOADING SYSTEM FOR TANK TRUCKS AND TRAILERS Filed Dec. 18, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 4 I v l I INVENTORS FRANK D. MAHONEY HOMER E. REED HAROLD B. UHLIG m BY AT%RNEY%Q 200 I8 FIG. 8

United States Patent Ofilice 3,319,645 Patented May 16, 1967 3,319,645 BOTTOM LOADING SYSTEM FOR TANK TRUCE AND TRAILERS Frank D. Mahoney, Atherton, and Homer E. Reed and Harold B. Uhlig, Belmont, Calif., assignors to Chevron Research Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 18, 1964, Ser- No. 419,538 7 Claims. (Cl. 137--267) This invention relates to the bottom loading of tank trucks and, more particularly, this invention relates to a bottom loading manifold and apparatus associated therewith which provides rapid and safe loading of inflammable liquid products and the like into compartmentalized tank trucks.

Much of the present day delivery of fuel products to retail outlets or stations is done by compartmentalized tank trucks and trailers. It is common practice to deliver two or more grades of gasoline and/ or diesel oil to a station from a single truck or truck and trailer. Many, if not most, of the present day deliveries are to service stations which will take the entire amount of a given fuel in a compartment of the truck. Thus the amount of fuel to be delivered to the station from the truck can be metered at the time the compartment is loaded and need not be metered during unloading-4f there is no possibility of shortage or contamination due to the delivery system on the truck. The advantages of not needing a meter in the truck are manyfold. These include cost and weight considerations particularly. There are however problems associated in the loading and unloadingsystems used for delivery from compartmentalized trucks. These are often compounded by problems'of State regulation, customer satisfaction, safety, time, and weight considerations.

There is need, therefore, for a simple and eflicient system of loading and unloading the various compartments of a truck.

Heretofore most compartmentalized tan-ktruck loading has been done through openings in the top of each compartment of the tank truck or trailer. Various valve arrangements are then used to unload the trucks from the bottom. Top loading, as it is known, has many disadvantages. Since the driver or a loader must climb up on top of the truck to handle the delivery equipment it is obvious that top loading produces hazardous conditions and is time-consuming. Further loading of the fuel through the open top ports, which also serve as breathing ports, creates a serious fume problem. As cities become more conscious of air pollution the need for a loading system to replace top loading will become more intense.

Bottom loading systems have heretofore been suggested. However, there is not yet a bottom loading system which satisfies all aspects of the problems discussed above. The problem of contamination of the various products has not been solved. Nor has a system been suggested which does not add excessively to the weight of the truck and trailer; nor one which is simple and efficient in operation and which can be easily operated by one man.

The present invention is directed .to providing a bottom loading and unloading system which is simple and safe in operation and which keeps down the excess weight to a minimum'while reducing the contamination or shortage problem to an acceptable level. It is a particular object of this invention to provide a bottom loading system which includes a bottom loading manifold having inwardly opening valves associated therewith and having connections to a plurality of tank truck compartments to facilitate bottom loading and unloading, which system is efficient and safe in operation and which system reduces the contamination volume and weight to a minimum. In one aspect the bottom loading system of the present invention comprises a central chamber means for mounting underneath a tank. The central chamber means has a floor section and a top section and the tank has a plurality of compartments. A plurality of first ports are formed in the central chamber means, the number of the first ports being greater than the number of compartments to be loaded and unloaded through the central chamber means. A plurality of first tubular means, each of which extends between one of the compartments and one of the first ports are connected to provide fluid flow channels be tween the compartments and the central chamber means. At least a second tubular member extending from a first port to a position for unloading from the tank is also connected to a first port of the central chamber means. Valve means are located in each of the first ports and normally close the first ports. Actuating means are provided for selectively opening the valve means. Second port means are formed in the floor section of the central chamber means and a third tubular means is connected to the second port means for loading the compartments of the tank through the central chamber means.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description read in light of the accompanying drawings which are part of this specification and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view, partially in phantom, of a typical tank truck and trailer diagrammatically showing the bottom loading system of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view taken at line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 and diagrammatically shows the bottom loading system of the present invention;'

FIGURE 3 is a plan view, with parts broken away for clarity of presentation, illustrating a preferred manifold useful in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional 'view of a portion of a valve taken at line 5-5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view similar to that shown in FIGURE 5 except that the valve is partially opened;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken at line 7-7 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a control diagram of a typical bottom loading system assembled in accordance with the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and to FIGURES 1 and 2 in particular, the present invention will be described in more detail. A tank truck generally indicated by the number 29 and a trailer 21 are shown in phantom. The invention of course is not to be limited to use with any particular form of truck and/or trailer. For purposes of illustration, the trailer 21 is separated into seven com partments. The compartments are numbered from front to rear 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37. In accordance with the invention the compartments 'are loaded and unloaded from underneath the truck. This is known in the art as bottom loading.

In accordance with the present invention the bottom loading manifolds 4i and 50 are mounted under the trailer 21 to provide selective communication between the loading and unloading lines and the difierent compartments. Thus manifold 59 provides connections for loading and unloading the four forward compartments 3134 and manifold 40 provides connections for loading and unloading the three rearward compartments 3537.

Each of the manifolds 40 and 50 has a plurality of ports. Some of the ports are provided with air operated normally closed valves and these ports are designated first ports. The valves are connected to each of the manifolds and extend into the manifolds when opened. A second port means is also formed in the floor of each manifold. This port does not have a valve at the manifold and it serves as the loading port. The loading port of each manifold is preferably supplied with a T connection 41, 51 so that loading can be done from either side of the truck through lines 42 or 43 and lines 52 or 53 respectively.

As shown schematically in FIGURE 2 ground loading apparatus is connectable to the loading lines of the trailer so that a product may be loaded into a desired compartment of the truck. When a trailer has many compartments as illustrated in FIGURES l and 2 it is desirable to have two loading setups at the loading terminal so that loading can be done through both manifolds simultaneously. Thus hose 44, meter 45 and valve 46 can be used to provide fuel for the rearward compartments while hose 54, meter 55 and valve 56 can be used to provide fuel for the forward compartments. When it is desired to put in another grade of fuel or a different product into some of the compartments then the loading hose must be changed. Each of the ends 48 and 49 of the trailer fueling lines 43, 44, 53, 54 is provided with a normally closed valve which cooperates with a valve on the end of each of the fueling hoses 44, 54 to open when the hoses are connected.

By selectively controlling the valves in a manifold a product can be loaded into the desired compartment. Each compartment is connected to a port of a manifold by appropriate piping. Thus pipes 11-17 are used to connect compartments 3137 to one or the other of the manifolds. Each compartment 3137 has an internal valve 22 and a breather valve 23. These valves, like the manifold valves, are preferably air operated and are normally closed. The internal valve 22 and the breather valve 23 of each compartment are connected by a common air line with the manifold valve which controls flow through the manifold to the compartment. Each of the air lines goes to a selector switch and when the switch is turned to the proper position all three valves for a given compartment are opened. Each compartment is also preferably supplied with a float-type valve 24 which is tied in to the flow control system by suitable means and which acts to shut off flow to a compartment when it is filled to a predetermined level.

Referring to compartment 35 the flow and control systems will be described in more detail. Pipe connects the bottom of compartment 35 to a manifold 40. Since the manifold 40 is located immediately below the compartment the connection is made by two 90 elbows. An air operated valve 9 is connected in the manifold and controls flow from the manifold to the compartment. An internal valve 22, located in the compartment 35 and required as a safety measure, also controls flow into and out of the compartment 35. A breather valve 23 is located on the top of the compartment. These three valves 9, 22 and 23 are normally closed and are opened by air pressure. An air line 8 having appropriate Ts and fittings connects the three valves in series and extends to a selector switch 7. When the selector switch 7 is turned to a suitable position all three valves will be opened by means of air pressure supplied from air source 18 through line 19. Thus when it is desired to load compartment 35 the selector switch 7 is positioned to open valves 9, 22 and 23 and the product is flowed through pipe 43, through manifold 40, valve 9, pipe 15 and Valve 22 into the compartment 35. 'If more than a predetermined amount of product is put into the compartment float valve 24, which is connected into air line 8 at 5 by line 6, is activated to shut off flow to the compartment. The valves of the other two rearward compartments 36 and 37 are connected in a similar manner as described above into the selector switch as illustrated by the broken-off line ends in FIGURE 1.

The forward compartments are loaded and unloaded through manifold 50. As shown in detail for compartment 34 the valve and air line hook-up is similar to that discussed above. The valves of the forward compartments are controlled by selector switch 107 and the load ing is done through either line 52 or 53. The loading of the forward compartments is handled in a manner similar tions for manifold 50. Each of these pipes as described 7 above enters one of the manifold ports andeach port is provided with an air operated valve.

If compartment 34 is to be unloaded from pipe 56 for example, the operator couples a suitable hose to the end of the pipe 56 and places it in a suitable tank at the station where the product is to be delivered. Selector switch 107 is turned to allow air in line 108 to open valves 109, 22 and 23. Switch 121 is then turned to a position to open valve 122 which controls flow to the on-side unloading line 56. The product then flows from compartment 34 through the manifold and out pipe 56. Unloading from the rear compartments 35-37 is done through manifold 40 in a manner similar to that described above except that switch 120 controls the unloading valves to permit flow through manifold 40 and either pipe 46 or pipe 47.

A preferred form of manifold is shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. FIGURE 3 is a plan View, with portions broken away for clarity of presentation, of the manifold and associated valves. FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken at lines 4-4 of FIGURE 3. The manifold is similar to the manifolds 40 and 50 discussed above and comprises a central body member 60 having a floor section 81 and a top section 82. The central body member 60 is formed in substantially cylindrical shape. Thus a maximum number and size of ports are locatable in the manifold with a minimum of contamination space. The central body member 60 has a plurality of radially-spaced-apart first ports indicated by the numbers 61-64. Fir-st ports 65 and 66 respectively are formed in the floor section 81 and the top section 82. Each of the above-mentioned ports is formed to seat an inwardly opening valve. A second port means 83 is also formed in the floor section of central body member 60. This port 83 is not valved in the manifold and is fitted with a suitable T coupling 84 to provide a connection for the off-side and on-side loading lines such as illustrated in FIGURES l and 2.

The first ports 61-66 are provided with suitable valves and are either connected to a compartment or are connected to on-side or off-side unloading lines. As is evident the piping extending from the first ports 6166 may take a variety of arrangements. In certain cases it may also be desirable to blank oif certain of the first ports. Loading of the compartments however is always done through the second port means 83 entering the floor section 81 of the manifold.

One or more of the first ports are provided with an inwardly opening valve. For example, port 62 is normally closed by means of an inwardly opening air operated valve indicated generally by the numeral 70. The valve 70 is enclosed in a housing member 71 and includes a valve stem 72 and a poppet 73 having a sealing ring 74. The valve stem 72 has a stub 75 extending through the poppet 73. The valve normally closes the elbow connection 76 to flow by means of spring 77 acting on piston member 78 to force the poppet 73 into a valve seat 79 in the elbow. The valve is opened by means of air pressure in chamber acting on piston member 101 to overcome the force exerted by the spring 77. A suitable air line is connected at port 103. The sealing ring 102 seals the space between the piston member 101 and the valve body 71. Thus each of six ports may be provided with the inwardly opening valve similar to valve 70.

The loading and unloading of the various compartments occur through the manifold. The rate of flow is very high and can be in the neighborhood of 600-800 gallons per minute and more. In accordance with the invention all the valves open inwardly. The pressure in the manifold during loading and unloading operations then tends to force the valves more tightly closed reducing the possibility of leakage. Further the inwardly opening valves greatly reduce the space in the manifold and elbows where contamination can occur. Thus the entire space available for contamination can be reduced to about one gallon by the present invention. The cylindrical configuration of the central chamber member 69 and the inwardly opening valves provide maximum port connections and a minimum volume for excess product. This is an extremely important consideration from a contamination standpoint. The cylindrical shape also allows maximum sized ports to be formed. In addition making use of the open second port means 83 in the floor section for loading further reduces the possibility of contamination since the last loaded product remains below the level from which unloading takes place. This also aids in providingthe accuracy required for proper accounting of product delivered when the tank compartment together with its piping to the manifold is used as a measure.

Due to the high flow rates it is desirable to stabilize the valves which are open in the manifold during the flow. This is accomplished by the spider member 130 located in the interior of the manifold. The spider 130 has holes, such as hole 131, in alignment with each of the stubs 75 of the valve stem 72. When a valve is opened the stubs 75 fit snugly into a hole 131 in the spider 130. The valve is thus stabilized and valve flutter at high g.p.m. rates is eliminated. The valve in port 61 is illustrated opened and the stub 75 of the valve stem 72 extends into hole 131 to illustrate this feature.

Referring now to FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 an enlarged sectional view of a portion of a valve, such as valve 70 of FIGURE 3 and useful in accordance with the present invention is shown. FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken at line 55 of FIGURE 3 and shows the valve poppet 73 seated on valve seat 79 formed at the base of elbow 76. A fluid-tight seal is formed by means of seal 74. As discussed above the valve is opened by means of valve stem 72 being forced by air pressure to carry the valve poppet 73 away from the valve seat and to permit flow through port 64. It has been found however that pressure builds up inside the central chamber 60 of the manifold during loading or from thermal expansion of the fluid while in transit and that therefore the air pressure required to open the valves is excessive. In accordance with the present invention then the valves used on the manifold are modified as shown in FIGURES 5, 6 and 7.

As discussed above, FIGURE 5 shows the valve poppet 73 seated on the valve seat 79 as the valve would appear in a closed position. FIGURE 6 shows the valve poppet 73 just after it has been moved ofi the valve seat 79. FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken at line 77 of FIG- URE 5. In accordance with the invention a means is provided in the valves to bleed otf the pressure in the manifold before moving the poppet 73 off the valve seat 79. One manner of accomplishing this comprises extending the valve stem 72 through the poppet 73 and threadedly connecting it to a wing nut member 90. A nylon lock washer 91 prevents slippage of the wing nut member 90 on the stem 72. When the valve is closed the wing nut member 96 seats on a shoulder 98 on poppet 73 and holds the poppet 73 securely in the valve seat 79. Note that space still exists between the poppet and the wing nut member. The valve stem 72 is slideable within poppet 73. A shoulder 93 is formed in valve stem 72 and a mating shoulder 94 is formed in the interior of poppet 73. A keyway 95 is formed along the valve stem 72 and when the valve is closed, the keyway is blanked off by a corner 96 of the poppet 73. When the valve is opened the valve stem first moves the wing nut member 90 to the relative position shown in FIGURE 6 prior to picking up and moving the poppet 73. This initial relative movement between the wing nut member and the poppet 73 opens the keyway to the interior of the central chamber 69 and allows any pressure to bleed off through the keyway 95. As valve stem 72 continues to move, shoulders 93 and 94 engage and the poppet is picked up on the valve stem and the port is opened. As described above the valve stem 72 moves to a position where stub 75 is engaged in a hole of a spider to stabilize the valve. A light compression spring 97 urges the valve poppet and the wing nut apart to prevent vibration between these components during loading and unloading operations.

FIGURE 8 is a diagram of a control system useful in accordance with the present invention. The valves and lines illustrated in FIGURE 8 have been set up to illustrate the flow control system which would be used with manifold 40 as shown in FIGURE 1 to provide flow to compartments 35, 36 and 37. Therefore the numbering arrangement of FIGURE 8 will follow that of FIGURE 1. Each of the compartments 35, 36 and 37 has an internal valve 22 and a breathing valve 23. Also included in each compartment is a float-type valve 24 which when activated shuts off flow when the liquid in the compartment reaches a predetermined level. The valves are activated by an air source 18 which is connected through an appropriate regulator valve 200 by means of a suitable air line 19 to a selector switch 7. The selector switch 7 selectively controls the valves in the manifold 40 which serve the three compartments 35, 36 and 37. The air line 19 also extends to a second selector switch which selectively controls the valves in the manifold which control flow to the on-side and off-side loading lines 46 and 47. Suitable double-check valves 201 are provided in each of the air lines leading to the manifold valve and the valves in each compartment. Selector switch 7 has at least five positions, three for selectively ,opening each of the valves for the three compartments and the manifold valve associated with the particular compartment, one for opening all the valves of the compartments and the manifoldvalves associated therewith and an off position at which all the valves are closed. Selector switch 120 has three positions, one for opening the on-side loading line 46, one for opening the oflF-side loading line 47 and an off position.

Selector switch 120 is normally only actuated when unloading fuel from the compartments. Thus if it were desired to load fuel into compartment 35, selector switch 120 remains at an off position and selector switch 7 is turned to the numeral 35 and air flows from air source 18 through selector switch 7 into air line 8 through check valve 201 and continues in line 8 to open valves 22 and 23. Air also flows to relay 5 to actuate the float switch 24. The compartment 35 then is ready for loading as described above with regard to FIGURE 1. The float valve shut-off system is connected to the loading terminal fuel shut-off switch by means of plug 206, and if the liquid in tank 35 reaches a level which will activate float valve 24, then the float valve and the relay act to stop flow of fuel to the compartment.

When it is desired to unload a compartment for example compartment 35, selector switch 7 is again turned to the numeral 35. Then, depending on which side is desired to unload from, selector switch 120 is turned to either 46 or 47 to open the appropriate unloading valve and to allow fuel to flow from the compartment through the manifold and out the unloading line.

When it is desired to open all the compartment valves and the manifold valves associated therewith selector switch 7 is turned to the ALL position. This occurs when all the compartments are loaded with the same product and it is desired to expedite unloading. The double-check valves 201 prevent air from actuating the float valves 5, 1G5 and 205 when the selector switch 7 is turned to the ALL position. If it is desired to unload from all the compartments selector switch 120 is turned to.a position depending on which side unloading is to be done.

It is apparent that modifications other than those described herein may be made to the apparatus of this invention without parting from the inventive concept. It is intended that the invention embrace all the equivalents Within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1.A bottom loading system for use in loading and unloading compartments of a tank comprising a central chamber means of generally cylindrical configuration for mounting underneath a tank and having a floor section and a top section, said tank having a plurality of compartments, a plurality of first ports .formed in said central chamber means, the number of said first ports being greater than the number of compartments to be loaded and unloaded through said central chamber means, a plurality of first tubular means, each of which extends between one of said compartments and one of said first ports, at least a second tubular member extending from a first port to a position for unloading from said tank, valve means in each of said first ports normally closing said first ports at said central chamber means, said valve means being selectively openable into said central chamber means to selectively permit flow through said first ports, actuating means for selectively opening said valve means, second port means in the floor section of said central chamber means and third tubular means extending from said second port means for loading the compartments of said tank through said central chamber means.

The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized by a spider means located in said central chamber means contactible with the said valve means to stabilize said valve means.

3. A bottom loading system for use in loading and unloading compartments of a tank truck comprising a substantially cylindrically shaped central chamber means having a floor section and a top section for mounting underneath a tank truck, said tank truck having a plurality. of compartments, a plurality of first ports formed in said central chamber means, the number of said first ports being greater than the number of compartments to be loaded and unloaded through said central chamber means, a plurality of first tubular means, each of which extends between one of said compartments and one of said first ports, at least a second tubular member extending from a first port to a position for unloading from said tank truck, valve means in each of said first ports normally closing said first ports and being openable into said central chamber means, each of said valve means having a means for bleeding ofi pressure from said central chamber means before opening into said central chamber means, actuating means for selectively opening said valve means, second port means in the floor section of said central chamber means and third tubular means extending from said second port means for loading the compart ments of said tank truck through said central chamber means.

4. A manifold for use in bottom loading tank trucks comprising means forming a generally cylindrically shaped central chamber means having a floor section and a top section, a plurality of spaced apart first ports formed in said central chamber means, valve seats formed in each of said first ports, valve means for seating in each of said valve seats, said valve means being normally seated in each of said valve seats to close-each of said first ports and being extendible into said central chamber means to open each of said first ports, actuating means positioned outside of said central chamber means for selectively extending each of said valve means into said cen: tral chamber means to open each of said first ports and second port means formed in the floor section of said cen tral chamber means.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized by spider means for stabilizing each of the valve means when said valve means are extended into said central chamber means to open said first ports.

6 A manifold for use in bottom loading compartmentalized tank trucks comprising means forming a gen.-

erally cylindrically shaped central chamber means having a fiat floor section and a flat top section, a plnrality of radially spaced-apart first ports formed in said central chamber means, valve seats formed in each of said first ports, valve means for setting in each of said valve'seats, said valve means being normally seated in each of said valve seats to close each of said first ports and being extendable into said central chamber means to open each of said first ports, actuating means positioned outside of said central chamber means for selectively extending each of said valve means into said central chamber means to open each of said first ports and second port means formed in the floor section of said central chamber means.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 further characterized by spider means for stabilizing each of the valve means when said valve means is extended into the central chamber means to open said first ports.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,904,074 9/1959 Towler 137630.15 3,181,551 5/1965 Coletti 137-609 FOREIGN PATENTS 654,932 1/1963 Canada.

M. CARY NELSON, Primary Examiner.

R. J. MILLER, M. SCHWADRON,

Assistant Examiners. 

4. A MANIFOLD FOR USE IN BOTTOM LOADING TANK TRUCKS COMPRISING MEANS FORMING A GENERALLY CYLINDRICALLY SHAPED CENTRAL CHAMBER MEANS HAVING A FLOOR SECTION AND A TOP SECTION, A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART FIRST PORTS FORMED IN SAID CENTRAL CHAMBER MEANS, VALVE SEATS FORMED IN EACH OF SAID FIRST PORTS, VALVE MEANS FOR SEATING IN EACH OF SAID VALVE SEATS, SAID VALVE MEANS BEING NORMALLY SEATED IN EACH OF SAID VALVE SEATS TO CLOSE EACH OF SAID FIRST PORTS AND BEING EXTENDIBLE INTO SAID CENTRAL CHAMBER MEANS TO OPEN EACH OF SAID FIRST PORTS, ACTUATING MEANS POSITIONED OUTSIDE OF SAID CENTRAL CHAMBER MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY EXTENDING EACH OF SAID VALVE MEANS INTO SAID CENTRAL CHAMBER MEANS TO OPEN EACH OF SAID FIRST PORTS AND SECOND PORT MEANS FORMED IN THE FLOOR SECTION OF SAID CENTRAL CHAMBER MEANS. 